New canon dslr question - advice needed

[Savin]

Hi

I currently own a 450d and have done for about 4 years now but feel its time to upgrade. I've spent hours trawling the Internet to decide whether to buy a 650d, 60d or 7d and cannot make up my mind. I have a few half-decent lenses which I will start to upgrade once I have a new dslr body. The photography I like to shoot are travel photos, night time shots (tripod and handheld) and landscapes. I can work my way around the camera so something more advanced like the 7d wouldn't put me off. Ideally I would want whatever I purchase to last me another 3-4 years but not sure if that's possible from the 7d or 60d due to the time they have already been on the market. I must purchase the camera within the next week as I'm getting married and would like to take it on my honeymoon.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Scott

[wave01]

Hi and welcome, with all the cameras you have mentioned i think they will all be replaced this year. That said you have to make your mind up on how much you want to spend as all the cameras are a good choice. the 650d has the new digic 5 processor and improved AF the 7d has the fastest frame rate and a good weather proof body and the 60d is also a good buy, plus all your lenses will fit. IMHO i would go for the 650d if you dont need the weather proof body

[Savin]

Hi Wave01, thanks for your reply. Budget wise I don't mind paying for the 7D but obviously it's a lot if money to invest if it will be outdated by the end of the year. I'm not bothered about having the latest model, just don't want to buy something which will feel very outdated within a year. The only thing putting me off the 650D is the slow auto focus, but in truth I probably wouldn't shoot a lot of video anyway.

[cosmicma]

you don't say what your current lenses are ?

if you have EF lenses is it not worth considering full frame ?, if you have EFS lenses i think the choice would be a little more difficult unless you are willing to sacrifice the EFS lenses for the benefits of full frame

the types of photography you mention full frame would compliment perfectly the only question would be cost and the camera of choice at that level has to be the 5d mk3 if buying new

even a second hand 5d mk2 is streets ahead of the 450d in every way it's a fantastic camera with years of life left even though it has been superseded by the mk3

i think we are getting to a stage now where image quality isn't an issue and we hear a lot of people banging on about low noise at high ISO or how accurate the focus is on the latest incarnation of camera bodies and how the older bodies are rubbish compared
how we managed before is a mystery

the reality is not many had a problem with focus i certainly don't with my 5d mk2 or my 50d but i suppose they have to convince the minions they "need" the new features

i have owned the 450d which was upgraded to a 40d and 50d and to be honest they are significantly improved of the 450d in a lot of ways but after that things start to slow down on the improvement side quite a lot
the 7d is still one of the best cropped sensor bodies canon have to offer and is still a very good camera despite the rumors of it's replacement due sometime soon

[Savin]

Thanks cosmicma.

My current lenses are canon 17-85 IS USM, canon 55-250 kit lens, and a sigma 10-20mm. If I get the 650d I think I would likely buy the 18-135 STM lens to replace the 17-85 USM primarily due to the quieter auto focus for video. In truth I would love a 5d mk2 or mk3 but they are out of my price range at the moment, hopefully my next upgrade would be a full frame camera. My main worry is that the 650d may not be good enough for low light (hand held) and night time (hand held also but mostly tripod) photography as these are the primary shots I like to take.

[nick_gray]

Originally Posted by Savin

In truth I would love a 5d mk2 or mk3 but they are out of my price range at the moment, hopefully my next upgrade would be a full frame camera.

The retail price of the 7D of £1069 (http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-c...-body/p1033215) is very similar to a good second hand 5D mkII at £999 from someone like Mifsuds (http://www.mifsuds.com/acatalog/Used...tal-SLR-s.html).

Nick

[nick_gray]

Can any of the mods see my message that I posted in reply to the above post? I received a message to say that it had to be checked by a moderator, but I'm surprised it's not been approved yet. Odd that after 400 posts, my messages with hyper links still have to have approval.

Nick

[Savin]

Nick - I would be greatly interested to see what your opinion was, could you possibly private message it to me? Many thanks...

[nick_gray]

Originally Posted by Savin

Nick - I would be greatly interested to see what your opinion was, could you possibly private message it to me? Many thanks...

It usually only takes an hour or so for a blocked post to appear, so I thought my post would have been cleared by now. No matter I'll post it without the hyperlinks:

A new 7D at somewhere like Warehouse Express is £1079, whereas a goof second hand 5D MKII at somewhere like Mifsuds Photographic is £999. Sorry if this makes your decision harder, but it's a similar choice I've been trying to make (I have a 500D) for a year or so and thought you might want all the options.

Nick

[Savin]

Thanks Nick

I've seen a 7D on digitalrev for £695 and a 650D for £429. I know they're in Hong Kong but have great reviews so will order from there I think. Also I'm a little dubious about buying a second hand camera in case there are any problems with it, however I have bought lenses second hand in the past with no problems.

I guess my main worry is that the 650D won't take photos as good as the 7D. Even though I like the fact it has a touch screen etc I don't think this outweights the superiority of the 7D. But I really don't know! Still totally lost...

Thanks for your help.